National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2016-2020)

(4) Rights of the elderly

The social value to respect, provide for and help the elderly shall be carried forward, and mutual care projects for the elderly shall be undertaken. A mechanism to address population aging shall be developed to effectively protect the legal rights and interests of elderly people.

・ An old-age service system, which is based on individual families, backed by the communities, supplemented by different institutions, boasts a more complete range of functions, is of an appropriate scale, covers both urban and rural areas and combines medical treatment with endowment care, shall be established. The old-age service market shall be open fully, and various market players shall be encouraged to increase the provision of old-age services and products by multiple means such as buying services and equity cooperation. By 2020 the old-age service facilities shall appear in over 90 percent of urban communities and 60 percent of rural communities.

・ A system of old-age medical care service combining prevention with treatment and boasting diversified development shall be improved. The accessibility of healthcare services to the elderly and their health management rate shall be improved.

・ A guardianship system for the elderly shall be set up and improved.

・ Preferential treatment for the elderly shall be strengthened, and the social welfare system and assistance system geared toward the elderly shall be improved. A subsidy system for the elderly advanced in age, in straitened circumstances, and incapacitated shall be put in full shape.

・ Policies, regulations and normative standards in relation to livable environment for elderly people shall be established and improved. Continuous efforts shall be made to increase the barrier-free rate in newly-built public facilities and facilities geared toward elderly people, and press forward with the development of an environment friendly to the elderly people.

・ Efforts shall be made to forge ahead with the construction of public cultural facilities for the elderly, and encourage public cultural institutions to make more free programs available to elderly people and to increase the supply of public cultural products to this group.

・ Efforts shall be made to integrate the functions of community old-age service facilities with those of sports facilities, encouraging communities to organize physical activities appropriate for the elderly by using public service facilities and other venues.

・ Greater encouragement shall be given to the development of social organizations for elderly people, the coverage of grassroots elderly people's associations shall be further expanded in urban and rural communities, and their will and level of participation in social development shall be enhanced.